The total workout time was almost identical these past 2 months: 84 minutes in October and 90 minutes in November. But I can see where my lifting has stalled out, even with adequate rest and recovery time.

Total inches through Nov. 30

Calories consumed through Nov. 30

You can see a couple of factors at work. Total inches confirms that I haven’t gained or lost significantly in the last 30 days.

I adjusted calories dramatically, concerned over having gained too many pounds of fat vs. muscle.

In October, the target was 2,500 per day; actual average was 2,582. In November, the target was 2,050 per day (2,000 for the first half, 2,100 for the second half); actual average was 2,101. Protein intake has remained roughly the same all 91 days. Because I have not measured body fat percentage since Nov. 1, I can’t tell if it has changed, but I believe it has not gone up or down significantly.

The project has cost me $283.59 so far. (The cost dropped because my monthly food bill in November was lower than the 24-month average before starting all of this.)

The big change is to switch to a new workout. I had been considering doing kettlebell swings and abdominal exercises on Mondays and Fridays, likely doubling my exercise time to about 3 hours total for December.

But in re-reading “The 4-Hour Body” [Amazon |iTunes aff. links] last night, a set of exercises in the chapter “From Geek to Freak” caught my eye. I’ll research them over the weekend and have a workout routine in place for Monday.

I’m looking forward to bulking up for real in December, closing out 2012 bigger than ever.